Will Cipher Novels & Stories

Her name was still there, stamped into the screen in that cold, unfeeling text. The second name was hidden…scrubbed clean, replaced by a string of characters called the “cipher”. But it gave me nothing, and it didn’t matter how many times I blinked, it was still her name staring back at me. Cipher: I’ve worked for Kade Valen and the Crimson Circle and I know we can take him down and the Crimson Circle altogether using that ledger. He won’t stand a chance. Lia: he won’t see it coming, cause I’ll finally make sure he pays for what he did to my brother. And I’ll make sure the Circle falls with him.

The team braced themselves, prepared for a battle that went beyond physical combat. When they finally cornered Cipher in an abandoned warehouse, the atmosphere crackled with electricity. Alex's voice rang out, laced with a potent mix of anger and determination. "Why?" they demanded. "Why betray us? Betray everything we've fought for?" Cipher's expression remained impassive, their eyes cold and calculating. "In this world, loyalty is a weakness," they replied, their voice devoid of remorse. "I chose power, and I will do whatever it takes to survive."

Then, almost as though he couldn’t stop himself, he muttered, “The frequency came in at 47.5, same as always. He said the job was urgent. That Matteo’s death was the only way forward.” Elena’s head snapped up. “What did you say?” Carlo looked at her blankly, realizing too late what he’d revealed. “47.5,” she repeated, her fingers already flying across her tablet. She pulled up encrypted records, her voice shaking with a mix of triumph and dread. “That’s the same relay we intercepted from the Catskills hub. The same one Cipher used.” The room went silent. Cipher. The ghost had a channel… an actual, identifiable frequency. And Carlo had confirmed he’d been using it.

"Vaporized. Whoever this is, they just erased three billion credits from existence in thirty seconds. They don't want the money. They want to burn the bank." Altair stood up. He walked to the window. Three billion. A dent, but survivable. But the method... that was the threat. "Who?" Altair asked. "The signature is encrypted with a chaotic algorithm," Nova said. "But I found a tag buried in the metadata." She tapped the tablet. A symbol appeared. A hollow circle with a slash through it. The mathematical symbol for the Empty Set. "CIPHER," Nova whispered. "The urban legend?" Altair scoffed. "CIPHER is a ghost story hackers tell newbies. A collective of digital anarchists."

But that isn’t the truth. By the time I retreat to my bedroom, the sun has dipped low in the sky, casting long shadows across the estate. My sanctuary awaits—hidden behind a false wall, my room transformed into a high-tech command center. Here, I’m not Lorenzo’s daughter. I’m not anyone’s pawn. Here, I’m Cipher. Lines of code dance across the screens, encrypted networks connecting me to the underworld’s elite. My website—a black-market hub for the kind of people who need information and are willing to pay for it—pings with new requests.

I remember reading about it — it was a simple substitution cipher where each letter is shifted a number of places, "Shit that's it!" Although wondering if this cipher could that be simple, I hold onto my senses, and my hunches. Rearranging the stacks in my mind, I shift the final symbols into place, and as the words come into horrible focus, I feel a chill run down my spine as I realize I am on the right track.

One flame. Then two... Then all nine. The temperature dropped instantly. Evelyn wrapped her jacket tighter. "What are they doing?" The stranger looked up. "They're counting." "Counting what?" He didn't answer. Instead, he stared at Adrian's brass key. The engraved numbers were changing again. 9... 18... 41... 1... And now... 2 Lucien's eyes widened. "The Second Cipher has already chosen its location." Adrian frowned. "You mean we're supposed to go there next?"